Hobbyhorse



G. B. NAEGLE Aug. 13, 1940.

HOBBYHORSEI Filed April 17, 1940 Q om ATTUHNEY ill- Patented Aug. 13, 1940 UNITED STATES.

PATENT OFFICE HOBBYHORSE 7 George B. Naegle, San Jose, Calit. Application April 17, 1940, Serial No. 330,076

3 Claims.

The present invention relates particularly to that type of hobbyhorse designed to simulate the action of a living horse in action.

It is one object of the present invention to provide a hobbyhorse that is mounted on wheels and propelled by the rider, and one in which the propelling forces are applied, in a large measure, by body movements of the rider.

It is another object to provide a device of the character indicated wherein complete action is secured through changing application of various forces including the shifting of the center of gravity of the rider, pressure applied through the legs of the rider, and pulling forces applied through his arms, and one in which the application of these various forces results in the coordinate movement of the body, legs and head of that portion representing a horse.

It is also an object to provide a device of the character indicated that will bring into play the entire muscular system of the rider and create in his mind the illusion of riding a living horse.

Finally, it is an object to provide a device having the characteristics above set forth that will be economical to manufacture, simple in form and construction, strong, durable, and highly efllcient in its practical application.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a device embodying my invention, with parts broken away.

Figure 2 is a sectional view on line 2-2 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a sectional view on line 3-3 of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a diagrammatic illustration indicating the extreme relative positions of the several moving parts, positions through which the parts pass when the device is in operation.

The device consists of two main parts, a wheeled chassis and a figure simulating an animal, in this instance a horse.

The chassis comprises a fame i having an elevated and horizontal front portion 2 fitted with a vertical tubular portion 3 in which is mounted the front steering wheel structure 4 with its wheel 5.

The rear end of the frame I is formed into an oval and horizontally disposed part as indicated at 6, and in this part 6 is journaled a crank-shaft 1 as at 8, the shaft having wheels as 9-9 mounted thereon. The shaft 1 is formed into three cranks as la and lb-1b, lying in a common plane as shown. Extending transversely through frame i at a point adjacent part 4, and in the present instance at a height substantially one-half the height of part 4, is a pivot pin ill.

The figure mounted upon the chassis comprises a body ii, a head II, a pair of front legs l3, and a pair of rear legs as It, and all of these parts are assembled in the following manner.

The rear legs M are body ii at i5, and also 'lb 1b as at iii.

The front legs i3 are pivotally mounted on the body ii at IT, and upon ,the pivot pin ii) at i8, a point intermediate the body ii and the extremity of the leg.

The body ii is built up of three fiat boards, as iia, lib, lie, the. boards lid and lie being mounted upon and spaced by the part lib, and the part lib filling in only the rear part of the body so that a free and open channel i9 is provided between the forward portions of the side parts iia and lie.

The head i2 is mounted upon a bar 20 that is in turn pivotally mounted on the parts iia-i lb and in the channel i9 as at 2i. Each pivot i1 is seated in the adjacent bodyportion but does not pass therethrough, so that they in no way interfere with the free pivotal movement of the bar 20 on pivot 2!. The positionof pivot 2i may be varied to secure a desired relative movement between the head and body, but in any case is eccentric to the pivotal mounting ii.

The end of the bar remote from pivot i1 is journaled on crank portion la and consequently lies in the vertical plane of body ii. A foot rest 23 passes horizontally through the bar 20 just below body ii for the purpose hereinafter more fully set forth.

In Figure 1 the body ii is shown'in a substantially horizontal position with the cranks 1w'ib lying in a horizontal plane, the extremities of legs it being rearwardly of the axis of shaft 1 and the lower, end of bar 2 0 being forwardly of the said axis. In the present arrangement the pivotal point 2! is forwardly of the pivotal points IT.

A child sitting on the body ii with its feet on rest 23 and pulling on reins 23a attached to the handle 26, will throw its weight forwardly and exert a downward force on rest 23 as indicated by arrow 25. This action operates to move the several parts into the position indicated in solid lines in the diagram because the downward thrust of bar 20 rotates the shaft 7 in the direction indicated by arrow 26, thereby elevating the rear legs i4 and the rear end of body ii. Since the pivotal point ii is located forwardly and upwardly relupon the crank portions pivotally mounted on the ative to pivotal point H, the above described upward tilting'of the body and angularly downward and rearward movement of bar 20 operates to rotate pivotal point 2i a distance about the pivotal point i1 because the same tilting movement causes the pivotal point i! to swing about the pivotal point ID as indicated by arrow 21. The readjustment of the several pivotal points then, not only moves the body ll into a forwardly tilting position but also swings the head i2 backwardly because it is an integral part of the bar 20 and the inclination of the said bar 20 is increased. I

Now if the child leans backwardly so that its weight is applied to the rearward portion of the body at 2B and removed from the bar 20 at .23, while still pulling on reins 23, the force applied at 28 will, through the medium of legs ll, rotate the axle 1 in the direction 28 and cause the several parts to move through the position shown in Figure 1 to the position shown in dotted lines in the diagram, thereby completing the cycle of operation. Since the front legs l3 are pivotally mounted at i8, the movement of pivotal point I! to the new position lia swings the pivotal point I! to point Ila, and the combined movement of body ii and front legs i3 and bar 20 moves the point 2i to Zia thereby moving the head into position I2a.

It may now be seen that the continued operation of the device not only drives the vehicle forwardly, but also imparts a regular sequence of movements to the several parts of the body that simulate the action of an animal in motion.

The part 6 of frame i is extended a distance beyond the rear wheels 9 as at 29 so that when the weight if the child is thrown backwardly far enough the front wheel 5 may be pulled off of the ground and the said part 29 caused to contact the ground and act as a brake.

Although but one specific embodiment of the invention has been herein illustrated and described, it will be understood that various alterations in the details of construction and mode of assembly may be made without departing from the scope of the invention as indicated inthe appended claims,

wheelsnd a pair of rear drive wheels and a crank shaft connecting said drive wheels, a body portion simulating an animal mounted on the chassis, said body portion including a body having front and rear legs and head pivotally mounted thereon, the foot extremities of the rear legs being Journaled on the crank shaft, and the front legs being pivotally mounted on the chassis at a point intermediate their length, and a bar connecting the head and crank whereby an angular downward pressure on the bar will turn the crank and actuate several pivoted members.

2. A device of the character described comprising, a chassis having a front steering wheel, a pair of rear driving wheels, and a crank shaft connecting the drive wheels, said shaft having oppositely disposed cranks lying in the same plane, and a body mounted on the chassis through the medium of front and rear legs pivoted on the body, the front legs also being pivoted on the chassis at a point intermediate their length and the rear legs also being journaled on the crank shaft at their foot extremities, and a head member pivoted on the body in offset relation to the pivotal mounting of the front legs and having a part extending angularly downwardly and rearwardly and journaled on the crank shaft in upposed relation to the mounting of the rear legs.

3. A device of the character described comprising, a chassis having a front steering wheel, a pair of rear driving wheels, and a crank shaft connecting the drive wheels, said shaft having oppositely disposed cranks lying in the same plane, and a body mounted on the chassis through the medium of front and rear legs pivoted on the body, the front legs also being pivoted on the chassis at a point intermediate their length and the rear legs also being Journaled on the crank shaft at their foot extremities, and a head member pivoted on the body and in the plane thereof at a point disposed forwardly and upwardly with relation to the pivotal mounting of the front legs and having a part extending downwardly and rearwardly and journaled on the crank shaft in opposed relation to the mounting of the rear legs, and a foot rest mounted on the last mentioned part at a point immediately below the body.

GEORGE B. NAEGLE. 

